Active and Reserve Airmen capture titles at the Men's and Women's Air Force Marathon > Wright-Patterson AFB > View Article

As the Air Force Marathon volunteers and participants arrived in the early hours of September 21, a passing weather front flashed with lightning in the distance, threatening to mar the day's events.

It turned out that the only flashes present came from two F-35 Lightning II aircraft thundering past to officially start the 28th Air Force Marathon.

At the end of the day, the Air Force Marathon – a qualifier for the Boston Marathon – attracted 7,600 runners from all 50 states and 18 foreign countries to participate in the numerous competitions during the marathon weekend.

“We had a great turnout this year and I'm proud of the entire team that made it possible,” said Christopher Meister, director of the Air Force Marathon. “We were a little concerned about the heat today, but made some adjustments and pulled it off successfully.”

Races in several distance categories were held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and Wright State University.

“I feel good and it was a great run. The weather was good and the support along the course was incredible,” said Col Dustin Richards, 88th Air Base Wing commander.

The men’s winner conquered the field in the third attempt.

Nathan Brown, a security forces sergeant from March Air Reserve Base in California, said he had a lot of fun and didn't expect to run so fast in his third marathon here.

“I've been doing a lot of trail running for the last three months,” Brown said. “I was really surprised that I could run that fast. This is the first time I've won. My fastest time was 2:31:00, and I'm taking a 2:36:57.”

The women’s champion has a military connection.

With a time of 3:13:30, Maj. Adrianna Dong, an E-11 instructor pilot from Robins AFB, Georgia, took home the award.

“It was pretty cool running today because of all the military members running,” she said. “I'm a member of Team Raptor on the Air Force Marathon team.”

She said it felt good to cross the finish line and the support of the cheerleaders along the course was a big help.

“It's cool, the first race I won was the Air Force Marathon,” she said. “Three weeks ago I actually got injured and my coach gave me three mantras: have fun, listen to my body and stay relaxed.”

Production of this magnitude is not possible without appropriate support mechanisms.

“We couldn't have put on this event without our volunteers and sponsors,” added Meister. “I want to say a huge thank you to the 1,200 volunteers for all the amazing work they did behind the scenes and in the spotlight to make this running day a success.”

Richards agreed with Meister's opinion about the volunteers.

“The volunteers who have come out to support this race have been incredible and inspiring,” he said. “They are the people who make it possible. I want to thank all the people who have come out to make such a great race possible.”

Here are the results:

MARATHON FOR MEN
1.: Nathan Brown 2:36:57
2.: William Burns 2:39:58
3.: Aidan Boyle 2:40:20

MARATHON FOR WOMEN
1.: Adrianna Dong 3:13:30
2.: Bridget McCormack 3:25:42
3rd place: Kathryn Kephart 3:30:34

HALF MARATHON FOR MEN
1.: Ryan Johnson 1:07:08
2.: Bret Greene 1:13:39
3.: Jacob Derry 1:16:13

HALF MARATHON FOR WOMEN
1.: Kayla Regulski 1:22:26
2.: Emily Shertzer 1:24:13
3.: Ellie Tighe 1:28:48

10 km, men
1.: Brett Lechtenberg 34:32
2.: Kayman Mays 35:46
3rd place: Adam Klauck 36:36

10 km for women
1.: Elizabeth Rodriguez 41:28
2.: Sarah Bergman 43:41
3.: Meghan Pryatel 44:17

5 km for men
1.: Brett Lechtenberg 16:35
2.: Dominic Buschelman 16:56
3.: Michael Cole 16:56

5 km for women
1.: Elizabeth Rodriguez 19:25
2.: Becky Thompson 20:16
3.: Megan Edmonds 22:03

MARATHON WITH HAND CRANKS AND WHEELS FOR MEN
1.: Casey Falkner 01:12:15
2.: Steve Chapman 01:12:22
3rd place: Yoshinori Tomoyasu 01:31:00

MARATHON WITH HAND CRANKS AND WHEELS FOR WOMEN
1.: Holly Koester 02:02:14
2.: Jennifer Hogan 02:59:17

MARATHON WITH GRIP BRAKE FOR MEN
1.: Josh Sommers 02:51:41

For complete results, official times and other event information, visit www.usafmarathon.com.

More images will be available in the coming days at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/88ABW or https://www.flickr.com/photos/wrightpattafb/.